Naming method: "This is it, maybe, but you should talk to ..."

Abstract

This conversation between a former doctoral student and advisor examines the student's choice to use a Mi'kmaq word to describe her methodology for her research in Mi'kmaw communities. The power relations associated with names and their sources were important in her choice, especially because of the colonialist history of the community and the tradition of generalisation in the academy. Nevertheless, the declaration of a methodology raises issues about the relationship among contexts in any research. In the search for the right word, community members always hedged their suggested words and referred the doctoral student to others in the community. This pattern of articulating a good description, recognising its limitations, and directing further conversation-based investigation was evident in her search for the word, but also relates to the methodology itself, to her findings about mathematics teaching and learning, and to the reporting of her work and of this conversation.